Mother's day is this weekend and I thought I'd go visit the homefront and cook something up for the occasion. I'm pretty sure I'm going to make chicken marsalla for the main course.

I dredge a few thin cut boneless chicken breasts in a flour, salt, pepper, and garlic mixture, then brown them in a skillet with 1/4 cup of marsala cooking wine. Once they're browned I add another 1/4 cup of marsala wine, 1/4 cup of chicken stock, and 1 can of mushrooms (6 oz. drained). Turn up the heat and cook until done. It's friggin awesome.

Well I've just started cooking recently so I only know a few dishes including the above, so I need ideas to finish off the meal. I need a good veggie side dish and a dessert. Any ideas?

Heat the cream and butter in a heavy saucepan or double boiler over mediumheat. When the butter is well-incorporated into the cream, add thechocolates.Stir off the heat until melted and well-blended. Add the eggyolks.

Quickly fold 1/4 of the chocolate mixture into the beaten whites, then foldthe whites into the chocolate.

Fill the crust with the filling and refrigerate several hours. If you likeyou may add Bailey's Irish Cream to the filling to flavour and whip cream witha tiny bit of sugar and some Frangelico liqueur. Amaretto for the whippingcream is also nice. It's just a decadent final touch to an alread-decadentdessert.

Okay, this is the only chocolate cake recipe you will ever need. It's moist and delicious, and what's more it's actually pretty easy (as baking goes). Plus, it uses no eggs, milk, or butter, so it's actually relatively low in fat. For best results, use chocolate sour cream icing. I don't know where my mom found this recipe, probably Sunset Magazine (Gourmet is a long shot. She subscribes to both, but this really isn't Gourmet's style)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour an 8-inch pan. (If you're going to serve right out of the pan instead of unmolding first you can skip the flour here)

Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, sugar, cocoa, and salt) and sift them together into the baking pan. Shake the pan to level the ingredients, then with your finger poke three small holes into the mixture. Pour the vinegar into one hole, the vanilla into another and the oil into the third. Pour the water over all. Using a table fork, stir the mixture very well--scrape the bottom and corners thoroughly so you don't miss any flour. Mixing should take about 1 1/2 minutes, and the resulting batter should be mostly smooth (a few small lumps are okay and will disappear with baking).

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes before unmolding (or if you're not unmolding, before serving).

For 2 9" round layers or one 9"x13" pan just double the recipe, but mix in a bowl with a wire whip. The oil can be reduced to 1/2 cup + 2 Tbs. instead of 2/3 cup. The layer version is perfect for birthdays & such.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (a small bowl set in a pan of simmering water). Remove from the water, add the sour cream and salt and stir until thoroughly blended. Spread on the cake while the frosting is still warm. For a two-layer cake, double the recipe. Frosting should go on the outside edge of the cake and between layers as well as on top.

Hmm... never tried cake baking before. I knew it was complicated but hoo boy... I better try making one of those before the final attempt. I'm a big fan of low fat but mmm Darth that mousse recipe sounds awesome.

If it's chocolatey dessert you want, you might try chocolate fondue. Prepare some fruit chunks, and cut up some pound or angel food cake and warm up some chocolate dipping sauce. It's easy but so sinful.

Or just chocolate fudge. Then she can also take some home with her for later as well. I know I already posted up the recipe in another subject line but here it is again.

3 cups chocolate chips
1 can condensed sweetened milk

Heat both together until chips are completely melted, stiring constantly. Add chopped nuts, dried fruits, coconut, or even more candy chips if desired. Pour into a 8x8 inch pan lined with wax paper. Chill for at least 2 hours. Take out and cut into pieces. Can also be decorated if desired.

The fondue sounds so easy I'm almost convinced it would be cheating. But it also sounds perfect. I'm a fondue virgin though so I need to know how it's served. Do you just give them a plate with a slice of cake and some fruit pieces on the side and let them get to dipping?

Yep, and there is about a million fondue sauce recipes out there too. A dessert fondue set will also help and I found mine for about $12. Like I said you mix up the sauce and cut everything up before hand, then serve. That half the fun is dipping the pieces in.

For an easy chocolate sauce melt about a 1/2 cup milk into about 2 cups chocolate chips.